Method and system for tilt-based actuation

ABSTRACT

An electronic device, system associated therewith, and method of operating an electronic device are disclosed. In one example embodiment, the method includes storing  310  a first base tilt position of the electronic device based upon at least one position signal received by a processing device at least indirectly from a position or movement sensing component. The method additionally includes defining  312  a plurality of tilt zones in relation to the base tilt position, including a base tilt zone containing the base tilt position, determining  324  whether a tilt position of the device has changed to a second tilt zone of the plurality of tilt zones, and causing  328  a display component of the device to perform displaying of information in a scrolling manner determined at least in part based upon the second tilt zone.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to electronic devices such as mobiledevices and, more particularly, to methods and systems for allowingelectronic devices to receive user inputs.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Mobile devices such as wrist watches, smart phones, tablet computers,and gaming controllers are ubiquitous and utilized for many purposes. Asthe applications of such mobile devices have grown in number andcomplexity, the desire to facilitate a variety of user inputs to themobile devices has grown. Indeed, in relation to a variety of mobiledevices, there is an ongoing and increased opportunity for additionalnew or enhanced methods of supporting user inputs to the mobile devices.

In at least some mobile devices, especially ones such as wristwatchesthat have displays of relatively modest size, scrolling ofelectronically-displayed text or images can be of importance. Yet when amobile device such as a wristwatch is worn on a user's wrist adjoiningone of the two hands of the user, it often is inconvenient when theuser, in order to actuate scrolling on the wristwatch, can only do so byproviding input signals by way of the user's other hand.

Additionally, even when a user holds the mobile device rather than wearsit on a wrist, it can both be inconvenient to the user if the user needsto actuate scrolling by way of the user's other hand and also beinconvenient if the user needs to resort to actuating the scrolling byway of the hand holding the smart phone, for example, by way of thethumb of the grasping hand. Indeed, in the latter case, one-handed touchscrolling by way of a user's thumb is not always comfortable (e.g.,small hands) or stable (e.g., it is easy to drop the phone).

For at least these reasons, as well as other reasons, it would beadvantageous to develop one or more additional new or enhanced methodsof allowing user inputs to mobile devices, as well as one or moreadditional new or enhanced mobile devices or related systems having suchcapabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows in schematic form an example electronic device, which inthe present example is a mobile device that more particularly is awristwatch, positioned on a user's lower arm (shown in phantom) and inrelation to example coordinate axes, and further shows the electronicdevice in three alternative tilt arrangements;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing example components of the electronicdevice of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing example steps of operation of theelectronic device in a scrolling manner;

FIG. 4 illustrates various example tilt angles of the electronic devicethat are of significance to the scrolling manner of operation;

FIG. 5 illustrates in a figurative manner the scrolling operation of theelectronic device of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a portion of a flow chart showing an alternate embodiment of aportion of the flow chart of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to any of a variety of electronic devicesincluding mobile devices such as wristwatches, game interfaces, andsmart phones in which wrist rotations (and even small or slight wristrotations) can serve as a natural input mechanism to the device. In atleast some embodiments, the wrist rotational (or other) movementsparticularly can be employed by a user to control scrolling (e.g.,vertical scrolling) of text and/or images appearing on a displayassociated with the electronic device, and this can be particularlyhelpful in the case of electronic devices that have a small display(e.g., a small watch display). Further, in at least some suchembodiments, the scrolling control achieved by the wrist rotationmovements provides a simple, convenient manner of achieving scrollingoperation that is both well-controlled and smooth in operation.

More particularly, in at least some embodiments, scrolling operationcommences when the position of the electronic device comes into a steadyviewable angle for a certain duration of time, at which point areference tilt angle is set and tilt angles near the reference tiltangle are associated with a target scrolling velocity of zero (0). Then,as the actual tilt angle deviates far enough in either direction due tothe user's movement/rotation of the user's wrist, the deviation is usedto set a new target velocity, new target position (e.g., what positionalong the displayed content is to be displayed), and acceleration. Forsmooth scrolling, at any point in time, the current velocity of thescrolling animation is based on calculations using the past velocity,the target velocity, the acceleration, and the target position.

Further, in at least some embodiments, the present disclosure relates toa method of operating an electronic device. The method includes storinga base tilt position of the electronic device based upon at least oneposition signal received by a processing device at least indirectly froma position or movement sensing component, and defining a plurality oftilt zones in relation to the base tilt position, including a base tiltzone containing the base tilt position. The method also includesdetermining whether a tilt position of the electronic device has changedto a second tilt zone of the plurality of tilt zones, and causing adisplay component of the electronic device to perform displaying ofinformation in a scrolling manner, the scrolling manner being determinedat least in part based upon the second tilt zone.

Additionally, in at least some embodiments, the present disclosurerelates to a method of operating a wristwatch device. The methodincludes first determining, based at least in part upon a first positionsignal received by a processing device, that a first base tilt positionof the electronic device is within a first viewable range and hasremained steady or substantially steady for a first period of time. Themethod additionally includes storing within a memory component of thewristwatch device a first base tilt value corresponding to the firstbase tilt position and determining a base tilt zone containing the basetilt value. The method further includes second determining a pluralityof additional tilt zones in relation to a base tilt zone, thirddetermining whether a tilt position of the electronic device has changedfrom being within a first tilt zone to being within a second tilt zone,and causing at least one component of the electronic device to performan action based at least in part upon the second tilt zone.

Further, in at least some embodiments, the present disclosure relates toan electronic device configured for allowing a user to view informationin a scrolling manner. The electronic device includes a display devicehaving a display surface having a tilt position associated therewith,the tilt position being variable in dependence upon a rotationalorientation of the electronic device and the display device thereofabout a first axis, and a position sensing device configured to provideat least one position signal indicative of a plurality of values of thetilt position at a plurality of respective different times. Theelectronic device additionally includes a processing device at leastindirectly coupled to the display device and the position sensing deviceand configured to receive the at least one position signal, where theprocessing device is further configured to cause the display device todisplay information in a scrolling manner at a scrolling velocitydepending at least in part upon a target velocity that in turn is basedat least in part upon at least some of the values of the tilt positionthat are indicative of a change in the tilt position.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example electronic device 100 is awristwatch-type product (or simply a wristwatch) shown in a first image101 to be positioned on and supported by a lower arm or wrist 102 of auser (shown in phantom) using a wristband 104. Given this arrangement,the electronic device 100 moves along with the lower arm 102 when theuser moves the lower arm as described below. In this drawing, theelectronic device 100 is worn on a dorsal side of a left wrist. Thewristwatch, however, can worn in a variety of ways including on the leftor right arm, on the dorsal side or the palmar side. Note also that theband 104 can be tighter or looser depending on user preference.

In the present embodiment, the electronic device 100 particularlyincludes a display 106 that is able to display any of a variety of typesof information, text, or visual imagery. FIG. 1 particularly shows thedisplay 106 as including a time and a message, for example, as would bedisplayed when used as a stopwatch or a wristwatch, and this time andmessage information is all simultaneously visible on the display 106 asshown. Nevertheless, as will be described further below, the electronicdevice 100 in the present embodiment additionally is capable ofdisplaying, and configured to display, information, text, or visualimagery that exceeds the size of the display 106 such that, to view thatinformation, text, or visual imagery, it is desirable for the user to beable to cause scrolling of that information, text, or visual imagery,which will hereinafter collectively be referred to generally as“scrollable information”. In addition to the display 106, in the presentembodiment the electronic device 100 also has a number of discrete keysor buttons 108 that serve as input components of the electronic device.However, in other embodiments these keys or buttons (or any particularnumber of such keys or buttons) can be implemented using a touchscreendisplay or other alternate technologies.

Although FIG. 1 particularly shows the electronic device 100 asincluding keys or buttons 108, these features are only intended to beexamples of components/features on the electronic device, and in otherembodiments the electronic device need not include one or more of thesefeatures and/or can include other features in addition to or instead ofthese features. Further, although FIG. 1 shows the electronic device 100to be a wristwatch, the electronic device 100 is intended to berepresentative of a variety of electronic devices including otherpersonal electronic devices and mobile devices such as, for example,smart phones, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),radios, tablet computers (including, for example, tablet computershaving a vertical strap along the back of the respective device thatallows the device to be strapped to the palm of a user's hand), or otherhandheld or portable electronic devices. In alternate embodiments, theelectronic device can be a headset, eyeglasses, an armband, or anotherform of wearable electronic device, including a media player (e.g., MP3,MP4, DVD, ebook), a media recorder (e.g., digital or video camera), agaming controller, an exercise or activity tracker, or a remotecontroller. More examples include a navigation device, a laptop ornotebook computer, a netbook, a pager, or another type of communicationdevice. Indeed, embodiments of the present disclosure are intended toencompass or be applicable to any of a variety of electronic devicesthat are capable of or configured for recognizing spatial gestures.

In addition to the above-described components, the electronic device 100further includes a three-dimensional (3D) accelerometer 110 (shown inphantom) that is configured to sense movements/accelerations of theelectronic device. By virtue of the accelerometer 110, the electronicdevice is able to sense accelerations along x, y, and z axes as alsoshown in FIG. 1, which (as discussed below) particularly allows theelectronic device to sense spatial gestures as described below. In thepresent embodiment, the y-axis is defined to be the vertical axis(up/down relative to the display), the x-axis is defined to be thehorizontal axis (left/right relative to the display), and the z-axis isdefined to be the depth axis (in/out relative to the display). However,it should be appreciated that the orientations of these axes are merelyexemplary and based on common convention.

Given the orientations of the axes as shown in FIG. 1 and theorientation of the electronic device 100 with respect to the force ofgravity 120 with all acceleration due to gravity along the y-axis, a rawdata point with 3D acceleration can be represented as (x, y, z), and amagnitude of acceleration is defined by:mag=|(x,y,z)|=√{square root over (x ² +y ² +z ²)}  (1)Thus, when the electronic device 100 and lower arm 102 are positioned asshown in FIG. 1 in a rest (non-moving) state, the detected values of theaccelerometer along the x, y, and z axes (x, y, z) are (0, 1G, 0), whereG is acceleration due to gravity, and the overall magnitude ofacceleration of the stationary device will be 1G.

Further referring to FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that movement of thelower arm 102 can cause variation in the rotational positions of theelectronic device 100 about the x, y, and z axes (or about axessubstantially parallel to those axes), as illustrated by curved arrows194, 196, and 192, respectively (it being understood that rotations canoccur both in the directions indicated by those arrows and in directionsopposite the directions indicated by those arrows). In the presentdiscussion, rotation about the x axis (or an axis substantially parallelto that axis) in the present embodiment will particularly be referred toas tilt rotation and, depending upon the amount of tilt rotation thatoccurs, the electronic device 100 will take on various tilt positions(or tilt angles or tilt levels). By comparison, rotation about the zaxis (or an axis substantially parallel to that axis) in the presentembodiment will particularly be referred to as orientation rotation and,depending upon the amount of orientation rotation that occurs, theelectronic device 100 will take on various different orientationpositions (or orientation angles or orientation levels).

It should be noted that, for reference, in the present embodiment, the“right hand rule” dictates the sign of the angular velocity around anaxis. The arrows 192, 194, and 196 of FIG. 1 each respectively showpositive angular velocity direction for each direction. That is, in thepresent embodiment, the sign of the angular velocity around the x-axisrepresented by the arrow 194 is positive if one moves rotationally inthe direction of changing from facing +z to facing −y (decrease tiltfrom 0 degrees), the sign of the angular velocity around the y-axisrepresented by the arrow 196 is positive if one moves rotationally inthe direction of changing from facing +z to facing +x, and the sign ofthe angular velocity around the z-axis represented by the arrow 192 ispositive if one moves rotationally in the direction of increasingorientation from 0 degrees (within the x-y plane established by thex-axis and y-axis). Nevertheless, notwithstanding the particulardefinitions of positive versus negative rotations about the x-axis,y-axis, and z-axis, rotations in either the positive or negativedirections can occur about each of the axes.

Further with respect to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 includes respective first,second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth additional images 170, 172, 174,180, 182, and 184 of the electronic device 100 to illustrate differentexample variations in the rotational positions of the electronic device.The first, second, and third additional images 170, 172, and 174 showthe electronic device 100 in respective first, second, and thirdorientation positions (but with the same tilt positions) differing fromthe position of the electronic device as shown on the lower arm 102 inthe first image 101. By comparison, the fourth, fifth, and sixthadditional images 180, 182, and 184 show the electronic device 100 inrespective first, second, and third tilt positions (but with the sameorientation positions), it being understood that the tilt positionillustrated in the fourth additional image 180 is the same tilt positionas is illustrated in the first image 101 of FIG. 1.

Additionally with respect to the first, second, and third additionalimages 170, 172, and 174, in contrast to the orientation value of theelectronic device 100 when positioned on the lower arm 102 as shown inthe first image 101, which is an orientation of 0 degrees (with thedevice being stationary and positioned such that the x-axis ishorizontal and the y-axis is vertical with the positive portion of they-axis pointing vertically upward), the first additional image 170 showsthe electronic device 100 having an orientation of +90 degrees (with(x,y,z)=(1G, 0, 0)), the second additional image 180 shows theelectronic device 100 having an orientation of +/−180 degrees (with(x,y,z)=(0, −1G, 0)), and the third additional image 190 shows theelectronic device having an orientation of −90 degrees (with(x,y,z)=(−1G, 0, 0)), where orientation can be calculated as follows:orientation=a tan 2(x,y)  (2)As already noted above, rotations of the electronic device 100 toachieve different orientations can be understood to be rotationsgenerally about the z-axis (or about an axis parallel to the z-axis) asrepresented by an arrow 192.

Although the first image 101 as well as the additional images 170, 172,and 174 of FIG. 1 all show the electronic device 100 in variouspositions that all correspond to a tilt value of zero, as already notedabove the electronic device can attain different levels of tilt givenappropriate further movement of the lower arm 102 supporting theelectronic device. More particularly, changes in the tilt position (ortilt angle or tilt level or tilt value or simply the tilt) of theelectronic device 100 can be achieved by rotations of the user's wrist,generally about the x-axis (or about an axis parallel to the x-axis)either in the direction represented by an arrow 194 or in the oppositedirection. The tilt position (or tilt angle or tilt level) of theelectronic device 100 in the present embodiment particularly can becalculated according to the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{tilt} = {a\;{\sin( \frac{z}{mag} )}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

In accordance with this equation, the tilt position (or tilt angle ortilt level) of the electronic device 100 as shown in the first image 101as well as in the fourth additional image 180 is zero. Alternatively, ifthe electronic device 100 is rotated about the x-axis in a mannercontrary to the direction indicated by the curved arrow 194, the tiltposition changes (increases) from zero up to a higher level.

The fifth additional image 182 particularly illustrates a circumstancein which the electronic device 100 has been rotated so that the frontface is parallel with a tilt axis 198 such that a tilt angle (or tiltposition or tilt level) 199 of the electronic device is +30 degrees. Andas a further example, the sixth additional image 184 shows theelectronic device 100 to be rotated so that the front face of theelectronic device 100 points up, in which case the electronic device hasa tilt angle (or tilt position or tilt level or tilt value) of +90degrees (and the acceleration values of the device will be (0,0,1G)).Although not shown, it should also be appreciated that, if theelectronic device 100 is moved so that the front face points down, thenthe electronic device will have a tilt value of −90 degrees (and(0,0,−1G) as acceleration values).

In the present embodiment and at least some other embodimentsencompassed herein, the acceleration input (x,y,z) provided by theaccelerometer 110, along with tilt and orientation values determinedbased thereon, can be used to assess whether the electronic device 100has reached a position that is a user-viewable position or angle, andhas remained steadily (or substantially steadily) in that position for asufficient length of time that it is appropriate to determine or set areference tilt angle. Further, this information (again, the accelerationinput (x,y,z) provided by the accelerometer 110, along with tilt andorientation values) can be subsequently utilized to determine variationsin the tilt angle (e.g., relative to the reference tilt angle) and,based upon such determined variations, to set a new target velocity, newtarget position, and/or acceleration for scrolling operation.

More particularly, in the present embodiment a scrolling operation ofthe electronic device 100 can be controlled by the user (or operator)based upon movement of the user's lower arm 102. Such scrollingoperation particularly is controlled based upon rotational movements ofthe lower arm 102 that result in changes in the tilt position and/or theorientation position. Of particular interest in this respect is the tiltposition because, in the present embodiment, whether the user is able toview (or comfortably view) the information presented on the display 106depends upon the tilt position of the electronic device (and the displaythereof). For example, as particularly illustrated in the fifthadditional image 182, when the tilt angle 199 is +30 degrees as shown, aray 185 extending between the front face of the display 106 and an eye181 of the user is directly normal to the front face of the display.However, it should be appreciated that, if the tilt angle is increasedto +90 degree as shown in the sixth additional image 184, then viewingof the display by the user would be difficult (or at least reducedsignificantly relative to image 182).

Additionally in view of this discussion, it should also be appreciatedthat there is a range of tilt angle values at which the user canreasonably comfortably view information on the display 106, extendingfrom a tilt angle that is less than the best tilt angle for viewing (inthis example, at the +30 degree level) to a tilt angle that is greaterthan the best tilt angle for viewing. Such a range of tilt angles isillustrated by an angle range 186 shown in the fifth additional image182 as extending from an angle below the angle 185 to an angle above theangle 185, and which should be understood to correspond to a range ofequal extent about the tilt axis 198. Likewise, although not illustratedparticularly in FIG. 1, it also is the case that there is a range oforientation angle values at which the user can reasonably comfortablyview information on the display 106. These two ranges of tilt angles andorientation angles are referred to herein further below as a “viewablerange” (or “viewable angle region”) of the electronic device 100.

In other embodiments, the acceleration input (x,y,z) provided by theaccelerometer 110, along with tilt and orientation values, can also beemployed for other purposes. For example, in some other embodiments,such information can be used to assess whether the electronic device 100is in a valid starting position for a particular gesture to occur.Additionally in regard to the definitions of orientation and tilt, itshould be appreciated that, even when the electronic device 100 is inmotion, these tilt and orientation terms apply. That is, given thepositioning of the electronic device 100 on the lower arm 102 as shownin the first image 101 (but not the positioning of the electronic devicein any of the first, second, or third additional images 170, 172, and174), if the wrist in FIG. 1 was moving (as long as it was not rotatingaround the z-axis), visually one would see and define tilt andorientation to be 0 degrees. That said, in general, the equations fortilt and orientation depend on the device being at rest to allowaccurate measurement of tilt and orientation through the use of gravity.

FIG. 2 provides a block diagram illustrating example internal components200 of the electronic device 100 of FIG. 1, which in the presentembodiment is a wristwatch having wireless communications capability. Asshown in FIG. 2, the internal components 200 of the electronic device100 include one or more wireless transceivers 202, a processor 204(e.g., a microprocessor, microcomputer, application-specific integratedcircuit, etc.), a memory portion 206, one or more output devices 208,and one or more input devices 210. The internal components 200 canfurther include a component interface 212 to provide a direct connectionto auxiliary components or accessories for additional or enhancedfunctionality. The internal components 200 also include a power supply214, such as a battery, for providing power to the other internalcomponents while enabling the mobile device to be portable. Further, theinternal components 200 additionally include one or more sensors 228.All of the internal components 200 can be coupled to one another, and incommunication with one another, by way of one or more internalcommunication links 232 (e.g., an internal bus).

Further, in the present embodiment of FIG. 2, the wireless transceivers202 particularly include a wireless personal area network (WPAN)transceiver 203 and a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver205. More particularly, the WPAN transceiver 203 is configured toconduct short-range wireless communications, using a protocol such asIEEE 802.15 Bluetooth®, IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee, NFC, RFID, infrared,HomeRF, Home Node B, or others or variants thereof. By contrast, theWi-Fi transceiver 205 is a wireless local area network (WLAN)transceiver 205 configured to conduct Wi-Fi communications in accordancewith the IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, or n) standard with access points. Inother embodiments, the Wi-Fi transceiver 205 can instead (or inaddition) conduct other types of communications commonly understood asbeing encompassed within Wi-Fi communications such as some types ofpeer-to-peer (e.g., Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer) communications. Further, inother embodiments, the Wi-Fi transceiver 205 can be replaced orsupplemented with one or more other wireless transceivers configured forcellular or non-cellular wireless communications.

Although in the present embodiment the electronic device 100 has two ofthe wireless transceivers 202 (that is, the transceivers 203 and 205),the present disclosure is intended to encompass numerous embodiments inwhich any arbitrary number of wireless transceivers employing anyarbitrary number of communication technologies are present as well aselectronic devices that do not have any wireless communicationscapability. In the present embodiment, by virtue of the use of thewireless transceivers 202, the electronic device 100 is capable ofcommunicating with any of a variety of other devices or systems (notshown) including, for example, other electronic devices including mobiledevices, cell towers, access points, other remote devices, etc.Depending upon the embodiment or circumstance, wireless communicationbetween the electronic device 100 and any arbitrary number of otherdevices or systems can be achieved.

Operation of the wireless transceivers 202 in conjunction with others ofthe internal components 200 of the electronic device 100 can take avariety of forms. For example, operation of the wireless transceivers202 can proceed in a manner in which, upon reception of wirelesssignals, the internal components 200 detect communication signals andthe transceivers 202 demodulate the communication signals to recoverincoming information, such as voice and/or data, transmitted by thewireless signals. After receiving the incoming information from thetransceivers 202, the processor 204 formats the incoming information forthe one or more output devices 208. Likewise, for transmission ofwireless signals, the processor 204 formats outgoing information, whichcan but need not be activated by the input devices 210, and conveys theoutgoing information to one or more of the wireless transceivers 202 formodulation so as to provide modulated communication signals to betransmitted.

Depending upon the embodiment, the input and output devices 208, 210 ofthe internal components 200 can include a variety of visual, audio,and/or mechanical outputs. For example, the output device(s) 208 caninclude one or more visual output devices 216 such as a liquid crystaldisplay and/or light emitting diode indicator, one or more audio outputdevices 218 such as a speaker, alarm, and/or buzzer, and/or one or moremechanical output devices 220 such as a vibrating mechanism. The visualoutput devices 216 among other things can also include a video screensuch as the display screen 106. Likewise, by example, the inputdevice(s) 210 can include one or more visual input devices 222 such asan optical sensor (for example, a camera lens and photosensor), one ormore audio input devices 224 such as a microphone, and/or one or moremechanical input devices 226 such as a flip sensor, keyboard, keypad,selection button, navigation cluster, touch pad, capacitive sensor,motion sensor, and/or switch. In the electronic device 100 of FIG. 1,the keys or buttons 108 are among the mechanical input devices 226.Operations that can actuate one or more of the input devices 210 caninclude not only the physical pressing/actuation of buttons or otheractuators, but can also include, for example, opening or unlocking someportion of the electronic device, moving the device to actuate a motion,moving the device to actuate a location positioning system, andoperating the device.

As mentioned above, the internal components 200 also can include one ormore of various types of sensors 228. In the present embodiment, thesensors 228 particularly include the accelerometer 110 shown in FIG. 1,which can be used for gesture detection and particularly is used in thepresent embodiment to detect movements of the electronic device 100(corresponding to movements of the lower arm 102 of the user) thatgovern or influence scrolling operation. Although in the presentembodiment employs the accelerometer 110 for position sensing and motionand gesture detection, in other embodiments other sensor(s) can be usedinstead of, or in combination with, the accelerometer to perform suchsensing and detection. For example, in some alternate embodiments, agyroscope and/or a barometer can be used instead of, or in addition to,the accelerometer 110. In some embodiments, more than one of thesesensors and/or other sensors are present and used for position sensingand motion and gesture detection.

Further, in addition to such sensor(s), depending upon the embodiment,the sensors 228 can include any of a variety of other sensor typesincluding, for example, proximity sensors (e.g., a light detectingsensor, an ultrasound transceiver, or an infrared transceiver), touchsensors, altitude sensors, and one or more location circuits/componentsthat can include, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver, a triangulation receiver, a tilt sensor, or any otherinformation collecting device that can identify a current location oruser-device interface (carry mode) of the electronic device 100.Although the sensors 228 for the purposes of FIG. 2 are considered to bedistinct from the input devices 210, in other embodiments it is possiblethat one or more of the input devices can also be considered toconstitute one or more of the sensors (and vice-versa). Additionally,although in the present embodiment the input devices 210 are shown to bedistinct from the output devices 208, it should be recognized that insome embodiments one or more devices serve both as input device(s) andoutput device(s). For example, in embodiments in which a touch screendisplay is employed, such a touch screen display can be considered toconstitute both a visual output device and a mechanical input device (bycontrast, the keys or buttons 108 are mechanical input devices).

The memory portion 206 of the internal components 200 can encompass oneor more memory devices of any of a variety of forms (e.g., read-onlymemory, random access memory, static random access memory, dynamicrandom access memory, etc.), and can be used by the processor 204 tostore and retrieve data. In some embodiments, the memory portion 206 canbe integrated with the processor 204 in a single device (e.g., aprocessing device including memory or processor-in-memory (PIM)), albeitsuch a single device will still typically have distinctportions/sections that perform the different processing and memoryfunctions and that can be considered separate devices. In some alternateembodiments, the memory portion 206 of the electronic device 100 can besupplemented or replaced by other memory portion(s) located elsewhereapart from the electronic device and, in such embodiments, theelectronic device can be in communication with or access such othermemory device(s) by way of any of various communications techniques, forexample, wireless communications afforded by the wireless transceivers202, or connections via the component interface 212.

The data that is stored by the memory portion 206 can include, but neednot be limited to, operating systems, programs (applications), andinformational data. Each operating system includes executable code thatcontrols basic functions of the electronic device 100, such asinteraction among the various internal components 200, communicationwith external devices via the wireless transceivers 202 and/or thecomponent interface 212, and storage and retrieval of programs and datato and from the memory portion 206. As for programs, each programincludes executable code that utilizes an operating system to providemore specific functionality, such as file system service and handling ofprotected and unprotected data stored in the memory portion 206. Suchprograms can include, among other things, programming for enabling theelectronic device 100 to perform processes such as calculating position,movements, acceleration, or metrics based upon information from sensorssuch as the accelerometer 110, sampling and processing gesture ormovement-related information, and performing processes for gesturerecognition or recognizing control movements such as processes forrecognizing movements intended to actuate or control scrolling operationas described herein. Finally, with respect to informational data, thisis non-executable code or information that can be referenced and/ormanipulated by an operating system or program for performing functionsof the electronic device 100.

Turning to FIG. 3, a flowchart 300 is provided that shows example stepsof operation of the electronic device 100 of FIG. 1 according to whichthe electronic device operates in a scrolling manner of operation, wherethe particular manner of operation depends upon the tilt and orientationangles of the electronic device (and display 106 thereof), andparticularly the tilt angle, of the electronic device. Aspects of thisscrolling operation are further illustrated by FIG. 4, which shows inadditional detail various example tilt angles of the electronic device(note that the angles shown in FIG. 4 are not drawn to scale so as toconform to any particular example angle values discussed below), as wellas FIG. 5, which illustrates in a figurative manner the scrollingoperation.

As shown in FIG. 3, upon beginning at a start step 302, the processcommences with the processor 202 calculating (or otherwise determining)the tilt and orientation of the electronic device 100 at a step 304based upon position information received from the accelerometer 110.Then, at a step 306, it is determined by the processor 204 whether thecalculated tilt and orientation angles of the electronic device 100 areboth within the viewing range of the electronic device (e.g., such thatthe display 106 is generally at a location and has an orientation thatmakes for relatively convenient user viewing, and not in a location orhaving an orientation inconsistent with viewing, such as if theelectronic device was at the user's side). For example, with respect tothe tilt angle in particular, the electronic device 100 in the presentembodiment can be within the viewing range if the tilt angle is greaterthan zero degrees but less than 70 degrees, e.g., within the angle range186 shown in the fifth additional image 182 of FIG. 1 and again shown inFIG. 4. Further for example, with respect to the orientation angle inparticular, in the present embodiment the electronic device 100 iswithin the viewing range if and the electronic device 100 has anorientation angle that is greater than −25 degrees and less than 25degrees.

So long as the tilt and orientation angles are not both within theviewing range, the process returns to the step 304 and the steps 304 and306 are performed repeatedly. However, after the tilt and orientationangles are both within the viewing range, the process then advances to astep 308, in which the processor 204 further determines whether both thetilt and orientation angles have remained within the viewing range in asteady manner for a predetermined length of time. In the presentembodiment, maintaining steady tilt and orientation angle values at thestep 308 is achieved if both the tilt angle value stays within sixdegrees of separation for 160 milliseconds (ms) and the orientationangle value stays within six degrees of separation for the same 160 ms.If one or both of the tilt or orientation values has not remained withinthe viewing range in a steady manner for the predetermined length oftime, then the process returns from the step 308 to the step 306.However, if the tilt and orientation angles both have remained withinthe viewing range in a steady manner for the predetermined length oftime, then the process instead advances from a step 308 to a step 310,at which the processor 204 causes the tilt angle value of the electronicdevice 100 that was most recently calculated as of the last performanceof the step 304 to be stored as the reference base tilt angle. Althoughthe reference base tilt angle can take on any of a variety of valueswithin the viewing range depending upon the embodiment or operationalcircumstances, for purposes of example, FIG. 4 shows a reference basetilt angle of +30 degrees that is (or at least corresponds to) the ray185 shown in the fifth additional image 182 of FIG. 1.

Next, at a further step 312, the processor 204 performs additionalcomputation to define a tilt center zone extending as a range about thereference base tilt angle, as well as defines positive and negative tiltzones relative to the tilt center zone. In the present embodiment, asillustrated by FIG. 4, the tilt center zone (zone zero) is set to be atilt angle range 401 encompassing the reference base tilt angle (the ray185) minus three degrees to the reference base tilt angle plus eightdegrees. Additionally in the present embodiment, the positive tilt zonesare defined as angle ranges having widths of four degrees starting atthe positive edge of the tilt center zone 401 (that is, starting at thereference base tilt angle plus eight degree edge) and can be numberedwith zone numbers plus one, plus two, plus three, etc., and in thisregard FIG. 4 particularly illustrates a first positive zone 403, asecond positive zone 405, and a third positive zone 407. Further in thepresent embodiment, the negative tilt zones are defined as angularranges each having a width of three degrees starting at the lower edgeof the tilt center zone 401 (that is, the reference base tilt angleminus three degrees at the center zone) and can be numbered with zonenumbers negative one, negative two, negative three, etc., and in thisregard FIG. 4 particularly illustrates a first negative zone 409, asecond negative zone 411, and a third negative zone 413.

Notwithstanding the above description, it should be appreciated that theparticular numbers of and definitions of ranges of tilt zones can varydepending upon the embodiment. Tables 1 and 2 show additional examplevalues of tilt angle thresholds or boundaries of zones or ranges ofzones as well as the number of zones, and Table 1 further particularlylists example units in which such thresholds, zone boundaries, or rangescan be expressed as well as how those values can be determined in anygiven instance (e.g., if a parameter type is “absolute”, the parameteris one that is preset for the electronic device and does not varydepending upon operation, but if a parameter type is “derived” and/or“relative to base” then it is determined based upon some other parametervalue).

TABLE 1 Example Tilt Angle Range Boundaries and Tilt Zone WidthsCorresponding to Different Tilt Zones Along With Example AssociatedUnits and Parameter Types. Example Parameter Name Value Unit ParameterType positive zone width 4 deg absolute negative zone width 3 degabsolute center zone + 8 deg relative to base boundary center zone − −3deg relative to base boundary number zones 7 zone absolute first zonenumber −3 zone derived index last zone number 3 zone derived indexscroll window tilt min −12 deg derived and relative to base scrollwindow tilt max 20 deg derived and relative to base scroll window width32 deg derived

TABLE 2 Example Tilt Angle Range Boundaries For Different Tilt Zones,for (a) a reference base tilt of zero degrees and (b) a reference basetilt of thirty-five (35) degrees. Zone Tilt Zone Tilt BoundariesBoundaries Relative to Absolute Base using Base: 35 Zone Zone Limits(deg) Zone Zone Limits (deg) Index Lower>= Upper< Index Lower>= Upper< 316 20 3 51 55 2 12 16 2 47 51 1 8 12 1 43 47 0 -3 8 0 32 43 4 -6 −3 −129 32 −2 -9 −6 −2 26 29 −3 -12 −9 −3 23 26

After the tilt center zone and the positive and negative tilt zones havebeen defined at the step 312, then scrolling operation can commence inearnest. In this regard, the process advances from the step 312 to astep 314, at which the processor 204 determines whether the tilt ororientation angle values have changed at all. If no change has takenplace, then the process remains at the step 314 (and in thiscircumstance, because scrolling operation has just begun and theelectronic device is at its reference base tilt angle, no scrolling isoccurring). Alternatively, if at the step 314 it is determined that thetilt or orientation angle values have changed at least in some respect,then the process advances to a step 316, at which the processing devicefurther determines whether the orientation is in the viewable range. Ifthe orientation is changed such that it is no longer even within theviewable range (that is, within the viewable range as discussed withreference to steps 306 and 308), then the process immediately ends atstep 318. Upon reaching the step 318, the method can be restarted at thestart step 302, or the method can be completely exited.

However, if the orientation is still within the viewable range, then theprocess instead advances to a step 320, at which the processor 204further determines whether the tilt angle is in the viewable range (forexample, whether the tilt angle is within the angle range 186 of FIG.4). If the tilt angle is no longer within the viewable range, then theprocessor 204 advances from the step 320 to a step 322, at which theprocessor further determines whether the tilt is still within ascrolling window tilt range of the electronic device 100, e.g., betweenthe scroll window tilt min and max (although FIG. 4 does not illustratean example scrolling window tilt range, in one example embodiment thescrolling window tilt range could be larger in range than the anglerange 186 shown in FIG. 4). If that is not the case, then the processagain advances to the end step 318. However, if at the step 320 it isdetermined that the tilt angle is still within the viewable range, or ifat the step 322 it is determined that the tilt angle is still within thescroll window tilt range, then in either case the process advances fromthe step 320 or step 322 as may be the case to a step 324.

Next, at the step 324, the processor 204 further determines, based uponadditional input signal information from the accelerometer 110, whetherthe tilt angle of the electronic device 100 has changed sufficiently sothat the tilt angle has changed from being within one tilt zone to beingwithin another tilt zone. If the tilt angle has changed from beingwithin one tilt zone to being within another tilt zone (e.g., betweenthe tilt center zone 401 and one of the positive tilt zones 403, 405,and 407 or one of the negative tilt zones 409, 411, or 413, or betweenany two of those positive and/or negative tilt zones shown in FIG. 4),then a scrolling gesture potentially has occurred and correspondingly, achange in the current manner of scrolling operation is potentiallyappropriate. Before it is determined that a scrolling gesture hasactually occurred and that a change in the scrolling manner of operationis appropriate, however, at a step 326 the processor 204 furtherdetermines whether the tilt angle has remained steady in the current(new) zone for a predetermined length of time. As with the determinationof whether the tilt angle remained steady in the step 308, thedetermination of steady tilt at the step 326 can be determined basedupon whether the tilt angle has stayed within six degrees of separation(and within the current, new, tilt zone) for 160 milliseconds.

If upon the performing of the step 326 it is determined that the tiltangle not only has changed zones but also is now steady in the new zone,a scroll gesture is determined to have occurred and that scroll gestureis assigned a scroll gesture value g_(v), and then the process advancesto a step 328, at which a target scrolling velocity is set correspondingto the scroll gesture value. In the present embodiment, the scrollgesture value g_(v) is set to be the number of the tilt zone that thetilt angle has entered, and thus the target scrolling velocity isdetermined based upon (e.g., as a function of) the number of the zonethat the tilt angle has entered, although in other embodiments thescroll gesture value and/or target scrolling velocity can be determinedbased upon other factors instead of or in addition to the number of thezone that the tilt angle has entered. Further for example, in thepresent embodiment, supposing that the tilt angle has changed from beingat the reference base tilt angle to being within the second positivezone 405, the target scrolling velocity could be changed from zero to asecond scrolling speed level that is faster than a first scrolling speedlevel that might be associated with a transition to the first positivezone 403.

It should be appreciated that the direction of the scrolling also willtypically correspond to the tilt zone that has been entered. Forexample, suppose that as shown in FIG. 5 there is a message 500 that isbeing displayed by the display 106 of the electronic device 100 and, asrepresented by the dashed lines 502 extending above and beneath thedisplay 106, the message 500 has a length that is sufficiently long thatthe entire document cannot be viewed all at the same time but can beviewed in its entirety if scrolling operation is performed. Then, in thepresent embodiment, if the tilt angle is changed from the reference basetilt angle to being within the second positive zone 405, this scrollinggesture can be interpreted as a command by the user that the message 500should be scrolled upwards in the direction of an arrow 504 so thatprogressively lower portions such as a bottom portion 506 of thedocument 500 become visible and a middle region 508 of the documentmoves off of the display 106. Such operation can colloquially bereferred to as “scrolling-down” notwithstanding the direction of thearrow 504, because the user is trying to view progressively lowerportions of the document. Alternatively for example, if the tilt anglewas changed from the reference base tilt angle to being within one ofthe negative tilt zones 409, 411, and 413, this scrolling gesture can beinterpreted as a command by the user that the document 500 should bescrolled in a direction opposite to that of the arrow 504 such thatprogressively higher portions of the document become visible on thedisplay 106 (such operation can colloquially be referred to as“scrolling-up” because the user is trying to view progressively higherportions of the document).

Further referring to FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, a change in theactual scrolling velocity (that is, the scrolling shown on the display106) to a new target scrolling velocity set in the step 328 does notoccur instantaneously, but rather the change occurs gradually. Thus,upon resetting the target scrolling velocity at the step 328, at a step330 the processor 204 considers whether scrolling is currently occurringat the target scrolling velocity. If the scrolling is not yet occurringat the target scrolling velocity, then the process advances to a step332, at which scrolling operation is modified so as to ramp up thescrolling velocity toward the target scrolling velocity and then theprocess advances to a step 334. Alternatively, if the scrolling iscurrently occurring at the target scrolling velocity as determined atthe step 330, then scrolling at that target scrolling velocity is thenperformed at a step 336, after which the process again proceeds to thestep 334.

Upon reaching the step 334, the processor 204 considers further whether,based upon additional signal information from the accelerometer 110,whether the tilt or orientation angles of the electronic device 100 havechanged significantly. The extent of changed required in order for agiven change to be significant in this regard can depend upon theembodiment (and the extent can be different with respect to tilt angleand orientation angle). Nevertheless, in the present embodiment, it canbe assumed that a change in tilt angle or orientation angle isdetermined to be significant if the change exceeds the range oftolerance that is utilized in determining whether the tilt has remainedsteady in the step 326 (e.g., six degrees of separation). In analternate embodiment, any change at all is deemed significant.Regardless of the particular tolerance range(s) or threshold(s) that areemployed, if it is determined that neither the tilt angle nor theorientation angle has changed significantly at the step 334, then theprocess returns to the step 330 and the steps 330 and 332 or 336 (asapplicable) and 334 are then repeated and this can continue onindefinitely until a top or bottom limit of the image, message,document, or web page is achieved. Alternatively if at the step 334 theprocessor 204 determines that the tilt or orientation angles havechanged significantly, then the process returns to the step 316 asindicated in FIG. 3.

In addition to the above-discussed operations, it should be furthernoted that the flow chart 300 of FIG. 3 includes several additionalsteps that may govern scrolling operation in particular circumstances.First, in addition to the above-described steps of operation, the flowchart 300 additionally includes a step 338 that is reached if, at thestep 324, it is determined that the tilt angle has not changed from onetilt zone to another tilt zone. If this is the case, then at the step338 it is further determined whether the scrolling operation (e.g.,active scrolling of the document) is going on. If so, the processadvances to the step 330 but, if not, the process instead returns fromthe step 338 back to the step 314. Further, the flow chart 300 of FIG. 3also includes a step 340, which is reached if, at the step 326, it isdetermined that the tilt angle has not (or not yet) remained steady forthe predetermined length of time in the new zone to which the tilt angletransitioned as determined at the step 324. Upon reaching the step 340,the processor 204 additionally determines whether the tilt angle haschanged to a different tilt zone and, if not, the process returns to thestep 326 to further consider whether the tilt angle has remained steadyfor the predetermined length of time and, if so, the process proceedsfrom the step 340 also back to the step 316.

In view of operations discussed in regard to FIG. 3, it should beappreciated that, upon the tilt angle changing to a new zone and beingsteady within that zone, the electronic device 100 displays an image(e.g., the message 500 of FIG. 5) in a scrolling manner according towhich the scrolling velocity of the document increases or decreasesgradually to attain the target scrolling velocity and, upon reachingthat target scrolling velocity, continues to scroll at that targetscrolling velocity indefinitely until the tilt or orientation angles ofthe electronic device changes significantly or a limit of the image isreached. Further, it should be appreciated that, even if one or both ofthe tilt angle or orientation angle do change significantly asdetermined at the step 334, by virtue of the steps 316, 320, 322, 324,and 338, scrolling display at the target velocity continues to occur (orcontinues to ramp up or down toward the target velocity) so long as thechange in the orientation angle is not so large that the orientationangle is no longer within the viewable range, and so long as the changein the tilt angle is not so large as to change the tilt zone withinwhich the tilt angle resides.

Further, as represented by a dashed line 342 linking the steps 324 and340 of FIG. 3, it should be appreciated that, if a determination is madeat the step 340 that the tilt angle has changed to be in a differenttilt zone than the tilt zone to which the tilt angle had previouslychanged (such that the process had previously advanced from the step 324to the step 326 and ultimately then to the step 340), then when theprocess again reaches the step 324 the determination made in step 324 atthe time should be understood to be the same determination as was madeduring the performing of the step 340—namely, that the tilt zone didindeed change to a new tilt zone. For example, if the processor 204initially determines at the step 324 that the tilt angle has changedfrom being within the tilt center zone to being within the firstpositive tilt zone, and the processor 204 subsequently at the step 326determines that the tilt angle has not yet remained steady andconsequently the process advances to the step 340, and if further at thestep 340 it is determined that the tilt angle has changed from beingwithin the first positive tilt zone to being within the second positivetilt zone (but otherwise the orientation angle has not changed), thenupon returning to the step 324 the process proceeds directly to the step326 because the determination made in the step 324 is that the tiltangle has changed from being within the first positive tilt zone tobeing within the second positive tilt zone. It should also beappreciated that, notwithstanding that FIG. 3 shows the start and endsteps 302 and 318, the process represented by the flow chart 300 canrepeat indefinitely, with the end step 318 being immediately followed bythe start step 302.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, it should be appreciated that in at leastsome embodiments scrolling operation of the electronic device issuperseded in importance by other operations, and particularlysuperseded when other gestures or touch inputs or commands are detectedby the electronic device. For example, notwithstanding the flow chart300 of FIG. 3, in some such embodiments, at the beginning of (or uponthe occurrence of) any touch event at the electronic device, the currentvelocity for scrolling is immediately set to zero (0) and the flow chart300 would go to the end step 318. Subsequently, at the end of any touchevent, the flow chart 300 would start again at start step 302. Suchoperation is appropriate so that tilt-based scrolling does not interferewith touch gestures. In embodiments operating this manner, any touch canessentially be used to stop scrolling and to reset the base tiltposition. Further, in at least some such embodiments, it is possible toutilize such touch activity to define the scroll window around aposition that is in a secondary (and larger) viewable range than aprimary viewable range.

Additionally, although not evident from FIG. 3, it also should beappreciated from FIG. 5 that a typical image document such as themessage 500 is not limitless in length and accordingly that scrollingoperation at a given velocity will typically, ultimately, result in anuppermost or lower most section of the document being displayed on thedisplay 106. Given this to be the case (as well as possibly otherconsiderations), in at least some embodiments the processor 204 operatesto track, use, and update animation metrics to provide a desired mannerof display that can take into account such display issues. Moreparticularly, in at least some such embodiments, during displaying ofthe image (e.g., an image of a message such as the message 500), theprocessor 204 calculates and tracks the last position of the image (ormessage), d_(n), the last velocity of the image (or message), v_(n), aswell as the acceleration of the image (or message) on the display, wherethe acceleration a particularly will be zero or of constant magnitudewhen there is ramping up or down or the scrolling velocity in accordancewith the step 332 and can be defined by the following equation:aε{−a ₀,0,+a ₀}  (4)

Additionally, in such embodiments, when a scroll gesture is determinedto have occurred at the step 326, the gesture value g_(v) is used to seta target velocity v_(T) and a target position d_(T). The a targetvelocity v_(T) particularly can be calculated by the following formula,where k is a constant:v _(T) =k·g _(v)  (5)Further, the target position d_(T) is typically set to correspond toeither the top or bottom of the content (e.g., the top or bottom of themessage 500 in FIG. 5), and the acceleration is set so that the currentvelocity will ramp up or down toward the target velocity. Based uponthese parameters, new animation metrics are calculated according to thefollowing equations until targets are reached, where in the followingequations t is the time that has passed since the last update, arepresents acceleration, v_(n+1) is the updated velocity based upon theacceleration a and time t, and d_(n+1) is the updated position basedupon the acceleration a, time t, updated velocity v_(n+j), and lastposition d_(n):

$\begin{matrix}{a = {a_{0} \cdot {{sign}( {d_{T} - d_{n}} )}}} & (6) \\{v_{n + 1} = {{at} + v_{n}}} & (7) \\{d_{n + 1} = {{\frac{1}{2}{at}^{2}} + {v_{n + 1}t} + d_{n}}} & (8)\end{matrix}$

Additionally, during scrolling operation (e.g., as performedparticularly by way of the steps 330, 332, 336, 334, 324, and 338 ofFIG. 3 and assuming that the steps 316, 320, and 322 do not end thescrolling operation), if the target velocity v_(T) is reached before thetarget position d_(T) is reached, the animation metrics are updated inaccordance with the following additional equations:a=0  (9)v _(n+1) =v _(T)  (10)d _(n+1) =v _(T) t+d _(n)  (11)Further, once the target position d_(T) has been reached, the animationmetrics are updated in accordance with the following additionalequations:a=0  (12)v _(n+1)=0  (13)d _(n+1) =d _(T)  (14)

In view of the above discussion, it should be appreciated that actualmovement of the displayed image (e.g., movement of the message 500 ofFIG. 5) on the display 106, notwithstanding scrolling operation of theelectronic device 100 in accordance with FIG. 3, will cease when theuppermost or lowermost portions of the image are reached. At such time,it still can be the case that the target velocity v_(T) will be as mostrecently determined at the step 328 (e.g., nonzero) until such time asone or both of the tilt or orientation angles change sufficiently thatthe process ends at the end step 318 or the tilt angle changes to beingwithin a different tilt zone at the step 324, at which point upon adetermination that the tilt angle is steady at the step 326, the targetscrolling velocity can again be reset. Correspondingly, although notillustrated in FIG. 3, such operation could be reflected in the flowchart 300 if, at the step 330, it is additionally determined whether thetarget position d_(T) has been reached and, if so, then the processwould advance immediately from the step 330 to the step 334 rather thanto either of the steps 332 or 336.

Although the above description pertaining to FIG. 3 presents aparticular embodiment in which changes in the tilt angle from one tiltzone to a different tilt zone are determined to be steady based uponwhether the tilt angle remains in that particular different tilt zonefor a predetermined length of time, the present disclosure is intendedto encompass other embodiments in which the steadiness determination ismade in a different manner or based upon other criteria. For example,referring to FIG. 6, in one example alternate embodiment, a step 626 issubstituted for the step 326 in FIG. 3 so as to arrive at a modifiedprocess consistent with the flow chart 300 but employing the step 626 inplace of the step 326. In this regard, the step 626 is intended toaccommodate the possibility that, even though an operator may in somecircumstances vary the tilt angle in an effort to cause a change inscrolling operation, the operator may not always change the tilt angleto a different tilt zone and keep the tilt angle within that tilt zoneconsistently but rather potentially may change the tilt angle to adifferent tilt zone but then oscillate between that different tilt zoneand other different tilt zone(s) (at least for a period of time beforesettling upon the different tilt zone). The embodiment represented byFIG. 6 is designed to recognize that such operational behavior, at leastunder some circumstances, still can be interpreted as a command tochange the scrolling velocity notwithstanding the occurrence ofoscillatory inputs from the operator.

More particularly as shown in FIG. 6, the step 626 includes a firstsubstep 628, a second substep 630, and a third substep 632. At the firstsubstep 628, the processor 204 calculates respective differences betweeneach of the tilt zones associated with a set of most recent detectedtilt angle values (for example, as indicated, the five most recentdetected tilt angle values), which can be referred to as theinstantaneous tilt zones, and the tilt zone that is associated with thecurrent target scrolling velocity, which can be referred to as theactive (or current) tilt zone. Subsequently, at the second substep 630,the processor 204 then further determines whether all of the calculateddifference values (e.g., all of the five calculated difference values)are nonzero. If all of the calculated difference values are nonzero,then the process advances to the third substep 632, at which theprocessor additionally determines whether all of the calculateddifference values share the same sign (e.g., are all of the differencevalues positive or all of the difference values negative).

If it is the case that one or more of the collection of differencevalues calculated at the step 628 is or are zero as determined at thesecond substep 630 or those difference values do not all share the samesign as determined at the third substep 632, then in either case this isindicative that the change in tilt angle is not steady and consequentlythe process advances from the step 626 to the step 340, at which time anew tilt angle value is detected or sampled. Consistent with the step340 as shown in FIG. 3, if the newly-detected tilt angle value indicatesthat the tilt angle has not shifted to a different tilt zone, then theprocess returns to the step 626 for further consideration of whether thetilt angle is steady based upon the newest collection of differencevalues—that is, the collection of difference values in which the oldestof the previously-considered collection has been eliminated and thatincludes a new difference value calculated based upon the mostrecently-sampled tilt angle determined at the step 340. Also consistentwith the step 340 as shown in FIG. 3, if the newly-detected tilt anglevalue detected at the step 340 indicates that the tilt angle has changedto a different tilt zone, then the process proceeds as indicated throughthe steps 316, 320, 322, and 324 and (as already discussed above, inaccordance with the dashed line 342) can return to reperform the step626 based upon the most recent tilt angle value determined at the step340

Alternatively, further with respect to the step 626, if it is the casethat all of the difference values calculated at the first substep 628are nonzero as determined at the second substep 630 and additionallythat all of the difference values share the same sign as determined atthe third substep 632, then this is indicative that the change in thetilt angle is steady and the process advances from the step 626 to thestep 328 at which the target scrolling velocity is set. Moreparticularly, in the present embodiment, when all of the differencevalues are nonzero and share the same sign, then the target scrollingvelocity (and correspondingly any acceleration allowing for ramping upor down to that velocity) is set to a level corresponding to a newactive tilt zone, where the active tilt zone differs from the previouslyactive tilt zone by the minimum of the absolute value of the collectionof difference values (subject to any minimum and/or maximum zoneindices) calculated at the step 628, and where the change in the activetilt zone from the previously active tilt zone is in the direction givenby the sign of the collection of difference values (where, again, thesign of all of the difference values is the same).

Further in regard to the embodiment corresponding to the flow chart 300modified to employ the step 626 of FIG. 6 in place of the step 326 ofFIG. 3, Table 3 provides example data illustrating how, in oneoperational instance, steadiness determinations can be made based uponchanging tilt angle values. More particularly in this example, a firstrow labeled “ITZ” constitutes a sequence of instantaneous tilt zonevalues corresponding to a sequence of tilt angle values detectedperiodically at successive times (typically though not necessarily witha constant periodicity), particularly at the steps 324/340 of FIG. 3(interrelated as represented by the dashed line 342 as discussed above).Additionally, second row labeled “ATZ” constitutes a sequence of activetilt zone values corresponding to the target scrolling velocity, whichwill vary depending upon the determinations made at the step 626 as towhether the tilt angle has remained steady. Finally, the third rowlabeled “Chg.” (Change) illustrates the times at which the active tiltzone value and correspondingly the target scrolling velocity is modifiedbased upon a determination that the tilt angle has remained steady.

TABLE 3 Example Active Tilt Zone Variation With Varying InstantaneousTilt Zone. ITZ 0 −1 −1 −2 −2 −3 −2 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 ATZ 0 0 00 0 −1 −1 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2 −1 1 2 2 2 3 Chg. {circumflex over ( )}{circumflex over ( )} {circumflex over ( )} {circumflex over ( )}{circumflex over ( )} {circumflex over ( )}

In considering Table 3, it should be appreciated that, in the presentexample embodiment, five difference values corresponding to each of thefive most recent instantaneous tilt angle values are calculated at thefirst substep 628 each time that the step 626 is performed. However, inother embodiments, the number of difference values that are calculated(and the number of instantaneous tilt angle values that are utilized forsuch calculations) can vary, for example, to numbers less than five orgreater than five, as can the periodicity with which sampling of thetilt angle values is performed. Given that, with respect to the exampleof Table 3, each performing of the calculations at the first substep 628involves the calculating of five difference values, Table 3 then can beunderstood to illustrate an operational sequence in which six changesoccur in the active tilt zone (and correspondingly with respect to thetarget scrolling velocity), at times 6, 8, 14, 15, 16, and 19 shown withcarats in the third row of the table More particularly the change at thetime 6, from an original active tilt zone value of zero (e.g., the tiltcenter zone encompassing the base tilt angle as discussed above) to anactive tilt zone value of negative one, occurs because each of the mostrecent instantaneous tilt zones at and preceding that time is less thanzero, and because the instantaneous tilt zone value that is closest tothe original active tilt zone value has a value of negative one (thatis, even though the instantaneous tilt zone values at the times 4, 5,and 6 have values of negative two or negative three, these values arenot closest to the original active tilt zone value of zero).

Additionally, with respect to the change at the time 8, at which theactive tilt zone value is further changed from negative one to negativetwo, this change occurs because the most recent five instantaneous tiltzone values each are less than the negative one active tilt zone value(as set at the time 6), and because the instantaneous tilt zone valuethat is closest to that negative one value has a value of negative two.Subsequently, with respect to the change at the time 14, at which theactive tilt zone value is changed back from negative two to negativeone, this change occurs because the most recent five instantaneous tiltzone values each are greater than the negative two active tilt zonevalue (as set at the time 8), and because the instantaneous tilt zonevalue that is closest to that negative two value has a value of negativeone. Similarly, at the time 15, the active tilt zone value is adjustedfurther to positive one, because the most recent five instantaneous tiltzone values each are greater than the negative one active tilt zonevalue (as set at the time 14), and because the instantaneous tilt zonevalue that is closest to that negative one value has a value of positiveone, and at the time 16, the active tilt zone value is adjusted furtherto positive two, because the most recent five instantaneous tilt zonevalues each are greater than the positive one active tilt zone value (asset at the time 15), and because the instantaneous tilt zone value thatis closest to that positive one value has a value of positive two.Finally, at the time 19, the active tilt zone value is adjusted furtherto positive three, because the most recent five instantaneous tilt zonevalues each are greater than the positive two active tilt zone value (asset at the time 16), and because the instantaneous tilt zone value thatis closest to that positive two value has a value of positive three.

It should be appreciated that manner of operation represented by theflow chart 300 modified to employ the step 626 of FIG. 6 differs fromthe manner of operation represented by the flow chart 300 of FIG. 3particularly in that the determination of whether a change in tilt angleis deemed sufficiently steady to warrant a change in the active tiltzone (and corresponding change in the target scrolling velocity) dependsnot upon whether the tilt angle to which the electronic device 100 hasbeen moved remains constant or substantially constant, but rather uponwhether the tilt angle of the electronic device is steadily away fromthe most-recently determined (that is, the original, orpreviously-determined) active tilt zone. Achieving such operationinvolves a form of hysteresis control, in that the processor 204 takesinto account multiple tilt angle values (and corresponding instantaneoustilt zone values) sampled sequentially over time so as allow for adetermination as to whether the tilt angle behavior overall,notwithstanding some temporal variation, justifies a conclusion that thetilt angle has been steadily away from the most-recently determinedactive tilt zone. Even so, it is evident from Table 3 (e.g., asillustrated particularly at the times 14, 15, and 16) that, despitetaking into account past tilt angle values, variations in the activetilt zone can occur rapidly as tilt angle values vary.

Notwithstanding the above description of certain embodiments, thepresent disclosure is intended to encompass numerous other embodimentsof electronic devices and methods of operating electronic devices inwhich movement of the electronic device, and particularly rotation ofthe electronic device about one or more rotational axes by a user, canbe used to control the operation of a display device of the electronicdevice to perform scrolling operation or similar types of image displayoperations. For example, although the above-described embodimentsparticularly envisions control of scrolling operation based uponvariations in tilt angle (e.g., rotation about the x-axis as shown inFIG. 1), with orientation angle (e.g., rotation about the z-axis asshown in FIG. 1) to some extent also influencing such operation, inother embodiments rotations about the y-axis can also be utilized tocontrol or influence scrolling operation (e.g., to the left or right).In at least some such embodiments, the accelerometer 110 and/or anothermotion-sensing device such as a gyro (and/or another device thatdetermines angular velocity around the three axes) can be utilized tosense all such rotational movements to allow for such operation.

At the same time, it should further be noted that it is natural to viewthe electronic device 100 (or another electronic device) as having anx-axis that is horizontal or nearly horizontal throughout the viewableregion (e.g., deviating only by the orientation), such that tilt is anatural metric to use for controlling vertical scrolling By comparison,use of rotation about the y-axis is not as direct. For example, in thetilt=0 case, the accelerometer 110 gives no information about rotationaround the y-axis, and it is only with a tilt of 90 degrees that boththe x and y axes are horizontal. If the tilt is high enough, somecalculation and tracking can be performed to consider changes around they-axis, but consideration of rotation about the y-axis alone or inaddition to rotation about the x-axis can ultimately, in at least somecircumstances, provide less of a consistent user experience than isafforded when rotation about the x-axis is alone considered.

Additionally, although the above-described embodiments particularlyrelate to the control of scrolling operation on an electronic devicebased upon movements of the electronic device, the present disclosurealso is intended to encompass embodiments in which other functionalityof electronic devices is controlled in identical or similar manners. Forexample, in some alternate embodiments, rotational movements of theelectronic device 100 and particularly changes in the tilt angle thereofcan be employed to control any of graphics display characteristics(e.g., on the display 106), microphone sensitivity, or volume of audiooutput on the device.

Further for example, in the case of a volume control application,operation colloquially referred to above as “scrolling-up” would causelowering of the volume and operation colloquially referred to above as“scrolling down” cause raising of the volume. Additionally, a changingof the tilt angle to being within the top (highest positive) tilt zonecould cause bringing up of a control mechanism. Also, if the tilt angleremained in the top zone, the control mechanism would recognize this asa command that the audio application should be ended (exited), and ifthe tilt angle receded into any lower tilt zone, the control mechanismwould be cancelled. Such control associated with the top tilt zone couldprovide a consistent experience for a user across multiple applications,because with such a manner of control a user would not have to turn theaudio all the way down before exiting (similarly, in regard to scrollingoperation involving scrolling of a document as described above, a userin at least some embodiments would not have to scroll all the way downbefore exiting the application involving reading).

Additionally, in at least some such embodiments, in addition to changesin tilt angle (rotation about the x-axis) serving to control volume aswell as exiting an audio application, changes in orientation angle(rotation about the z-axis) or other rotational movements (e.g.,rotation about the y-axis) can be employed to control other functionssuch as fast forward or rewind functions. Thus, in at least some suchembodiments, the control afforded by rotation of the electronic devicecan concern not only the audio quality but also other operationscommonly associated with an audio recording or output device.

In still additional alternate embodiments, rotational movements of anelectronic device such as those discussed above in relation to scrollingoperation can be used with an application that displays web browsinginformation, or short messages or tweets (e.g., as provided by a serviceoffered by Twitter Inc. of San Francisco, Calif.). For example, in thecase of tweets, such rotational movements can control for the tweetsbeing “refreshed”. In some such embodiments, the operation allows forreturning to earlier in flow, returning to the top of flow, and exitingflow. The mechanism to refresh can in at least some such embodiments bemerely when the position gets close to the end of the content (that is,perhaps refreshing need not be associated with control), and then thetop tilt zone as described above can be used to control a refresh. Also,in some such embodiments, detection by the electronic device of a scrollgesture that is indicative of a command to scroll past the top of thecontent would be interpreted as a command to refresh and obtain newcontent for the electronic device, where the new content particularlywould include newer tweets than were previously stored on the electronicdevice. By contrast, also in such embodiments, detection by theelectronic device of a scroll gesture that is indicative of a command toscroll past the bottom of the content would be interpreted as a commandto refresh and obtain new content for the electronic device includingolder tweets than were previously stored on the electronic device.

Further, in yet an additional alternate embodiment, rotational movementsof an electronic device such as those discussed above in relation toscrolling operation can be used with an application such a contact list.In such an embodiment, scrolling of the listing of contacts andassociated information can again be performed in substantially the samemanner as described in regard to FIGS. 1 to 5 but also, depending upontilt angle changes (e.g., movement of the tilt angle to be within thetop tilt zone) or other movements, a user can provide commands to takeother actions such as dialing a telephone number or exiting flow.

From the above description it should be appreciated that at least someembodiments of the present disclosure are advantageous in one or morerespects. Among other things, at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure allow for a user to control the displaying of information ina scrolling manner on an electronic device without physically touchingthe electronic device by way of the user's finger to provide thecommand, which can be advantageous in the case of a wristwatch (e.g.,where the fingers of one of the user's hands cannot touch thewristwatch) or in the case of a smart phone, particularly in the casewhere a user is holding the phone with one hand but does not wish totouch it with the user's other hand. Indeed, allowing for commands to beprovided to an electronic device by way of rotating the electronicdevice about one or more axes can facilitate the providing of manydifferent commands that might otherwise be difficult or inconvenient toachieve through the use of other forms of gestures or other forms ofinput.

Thus, it is specifically intended that the present disclosure not belimited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, butinclude modified forms of those embodiments including portions of theembodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments ascome within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a processor ofan electronic device, from a position or movement sensor of theelectronic device, at least one position signal; determining, by theprocessor of the electronic device, based on the at least one positionsignal, a first tilt position of the electronic device; responsive todetermining that the first tilt position has remained steady at aviewable angle for at least a predetermined amount of time: storing, bythe processor of the electronic device, to a memory of the electronicdevice, the first tilt position of the electronic device; defining, bythe processor of the electronic device, a plurality of tilt zones thatare in relation to the first tilt position, the plurality of tilt zonesincluding a first tilt zone that includes the first tilt position;determining, by the processor of the electronic device, based on the atleast one position signal, a second tilt position of the electronicdevice; and responsive to determining that the second tilt position ofthe electronic device is included in a second tilt zone of the pluralityof tilt zones, outputting, for display by a display of the electronicdevice, scrolling information, wherein the scrolling information isdetermined based at least in part on the second tilt zone; andresponsive to determining that the first tilt position has not remainedsteady at the viewable angle for at least the predetermined amount oftime: determining, by the processor of the electronic device, based onthe at least one position signal, a third tilt position of theelectronic device; and responsive to determining that the third tiltposition has remained steady at any viewable angle for at least thepredetermined amount of time, defining, by the processor of theelectronic device, the plurality of tilt zones in relation to the thirdtilt position.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying thescrolling information includes increasing or decreasing a scrollingvelocity associated with the scrolling information to a target velocitycorresponding to the second tilt zone.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: after the scrolling velocity attains the target velocity,displaying, at the display of the electronic device, the scrollinginformation at the target velocity.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: responsive to determining that a fourth tilt position of theelectronic device is included in the third tilt zone, increasing ordecreasing the scrolling velocity to a second target velocitycorresponding to a third tilt zone.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe scrolling information includes at least one of text, a series ofmessages, contacts information, web browsing information, or imagery,and the position or movement sensor is at least one of a gravity sensor,an accelerometer, and a gyroscope.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: responsive to determining that, while displayed, at least aportion of the scrolling information includes an uppermost or lowermostportion of the information, ceasing displaying, at the display of theelectronic device, the scrolling information.
 7. An electronic devicecomprising: a display component that includes a display surface having avariable tilt position; a position sensing component configured toprovide at least one position signal indicative of the variable tiltposition of the display surface; and a processor configured to: receivethe at least one position signal; determine, based on the at least oneposition signal, a first tilt position of the display surface;responsive to determining that the first tilt position has remainedsteady at a viewable angle for a predetermined amount of time: define aplurality of tilt zones that are in relation to the first tilt position,the plurality of tilt zones including a first tilt zone containing thefirst tilt position; determine, based on the at least one positionsignal, a second tilt position of the display surface; and responsive todetermining that the second tilt position is included in a second tiltzone of the plurality of tilt zones, cause the display component todisplay scrolling information, wherein the scrolling information isdetermined based at least in part on the second tilt zone; andresponsive to determining that the first tilt position has not remainedsteady at the viewable angle for at least the predetermined amount oftime: determine, based on the at least one position signal, a third tiltposition of the electronic device; and responsive to determining thatthe third tilt position has remained steady at any viewable angle for atleast the predetermined amount of time, define the plurality of tiltzones in relation to the third tilt position.
 8. The electronic deviceof claim 7, wherein the electronic device is a wristwatch device, asmart phone, or a tablet computer.
 9. The electronic device of claim 8,wherein the position sensing component includes one or more of anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, and a gravity sensor.
 10. The electronicdevice of claim 9, further comprising a memory component configured tostore the first tilt zone from which the plurality of tilt zones aredefined.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: while displayingthe scrolling information, detecting, by the processor of the electronicdevice, a user touch input; and responsive to detecting the user touchinput, ceasing displaying, at the display of the electronic device, thescrolling information.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the viewableangle is a first viewable angle, the plurality of tilt zones are a firstplurality of tilt zones, and the scrolling information is firstscrolling information, the method further comprising: after ceasingdisplaying the scrolling information i, determining, by the processor ofthe electronic device, that the second tilt position corresponds to asecond viewable angle; responsive to determining that the second tiltposition corresponds to a second viewable angle and that the second tiltposition has remained steady for the predetermined amount of time,storing, by the processor of the electronic device, at the memory deviceof the electronic device, the second tilt position of the electronicdevice; defining, by the processor of the electronic device, a secondplurality of tilt zones that are in relation to the second tiltposition, the second plurality of tilt zones including the second tiltzone containing the second tilt position; determining, by the processorof the electronic device, based on the at least one position signal, afourth tilt position of the electronic device; and responsive todetermining that the fourth tilt position of the electronic device isincluded in a third tilt zone of the second plurality of tilt zones,displaying, at the display of the electronic device, second scrollinginformation, wherein the second scrolling information is determinedbased at least in part on the third tilt zone.
 13. A memory devicecomprising executable code that, when executed by a processor of anelectronic device, causes the processor to: receive, from a position ormovement sensor the electronic device, at least one position signal;determine, based on the at least one position signal, a first tiltposition of the electronic device; responsive to determining that thefirst tilt position has remained steady at a viewable angle for at leasta predetermined amount of time: store, at the memory device, the firsttilt position of the electronic device; define a plurality of tilt zonesthat are in relation to the first tilt position, the plurality of tiltzones including a first tilt zone containing the first tilt position;determine, based on the at least one position signal, a second tiltposition of the electronic device; and responsive to determining thatthe second tilt position of the electronic device is included in asecond tilt zone of the plurality of tilt zones, display, at a displayof the electronic device, scrolling information, wherein the scrollinginformation is determined based at least in part on the second tiltzone; and responsive to determining that the first tilt position has notremained steady at the viewable angle for at least the predeterminedamount of time: determine, based on the at least one position signal, athird tilt position of the electronic device; and responsive todetermining that the third tilt position has remained steady at anyviewable angle for at least the predetermined amount of time, define theplurality of tilt zones in relation to the third tilt position.
 14. Thememory device of claim 13, comprising additional executable code that,when executed by the processor, causes the processor to display at thedisplay of the electronic device, the scrolling information by at leastincreasing or decreasing a scrolling velocity associated with thescrolling information to a target velocity corresponding to the secondtilt zone.
 15. The memory device of claim 14, comprising additionalexecutable code that, when executed by the processor, causes theprocessor to display the scrolling information at the target velocityafter the scrolling velocity attains the target velocity.
 16. The memorydevice of claim 15, wherein the target velocity is a first targetvelocity, the memory device comprising additional executable code that,when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: responsive todetermining that a third tilt position of the electronic device isincluded in the third tilt zone, increase or decrease the scrollingvelocity to a second target velocity corresponding to a third tilt zone.17. The memory device of claim 13, wherein the scrolling informationincludes one or both of text and imagery, and the position or movementsensor is at least one of a gravity sensor, an accelerometer, and agyroscope.
 18. The memory device of claim 17, wherein the scrollinginformation includes one or more of a series of messages, contactsinformation, and web browsing information.
 19. The method of claim 1,wherein the predetermined amount of time is 160 milliseconds.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: responsive to determining thatthe first tilt position has stayed within plus or minus six degrees ofseparation from the viewable angle for at least the predetermined amountof time, determining, by the processor of the electronic device, thatthe first tilt position has remained steady at the viewable angle for atleast the predetermined amount of time.